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6 days ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
In episode 681 of the Fine Homebuilding Podcast, listener Scott is hoping to get some feedback on the basement assembly he’s planning for his Philadelphia home. The DIY radiant heat floor assembly includes 2-in. XPS insulation with manually routed 3/4-in. grooves, aluminum heat transfer plates pressed into the grooves, and engineered hardwood laid directly over the XPS. The crew weighs in. Want more expert advice on topics like making a DIY radiant heat floor assembly?
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
Allied Window and Beacon Hill Restoration have collaborated on hundreds of historic house projects and museums over the years. They have established a reputation as a team willing to tackle the most challenging of situations. Inherent with all of our historic house restorations, is the fact that each and every window opening has its own particular issues.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Patricia Poore |Abby Cote
We seem to have a collective memory of cozy, tucked-in beds, whether or not childhood included draping a blanket to make a tent of the lower bunk. Cupboard beds and bunks have a common history as efficient ways to provide sleeping space for a family. Today’s designers use alcove beds, built-in bunks, and entire bunk rooms to create a room within a room, using precedents from Swedish furniture to nautical berths. The concept sounds like a holdover from mid-century suburban kids’ rooms.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Ray Tschoepe |Abby Cote
You’ve found the perfect five-panel door to replace the hollow-core one left from a 1960s remodeling. But it’s not exactly the right size. If it’s a half inch or so too wide, it might appear easy to saw a small amount of wood from the hinge side, so that you don’t have to re-mortise the lockset or deal with the bevel on that edge. That would require you to remake two or three hinge mortises. You’ll find DIY texts touting the use of a router to make the mortise.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
Given my taste for the grand and ornate, it’s out of necessity that I’ve had to learn techniques for restoring vintage light fixtures. Restoring color and patina is time consuming and requires a lot of patience. It helps that I am an artist with an eye for subtle differences in hue and tone, and that I have knowledge of the right materials to refresh these old finishes without altering or repainting a fixture. My goal is always to maintain as much of the original finish as possible.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Mary Ellen Polson |Abby Cote
Architectural or builders’ hardware such as doorknobs, locks, latches, hinges, and window catches are among the most prized details in any vintage house. Over the decades, these functional pieces of house jewelry tend to take a beating. Rust, tarnish, multiple coats of paint, missing parts, and damage from missing or stripped screws compromise the integrity of these essential bits. Depending on the period and materials, vintage hardware may be better or lesser than what’s made today.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
This space, once a barn behind the kitchen, had been a mash-up with a freestanding toilet, a washer and dryer, and a castoff sink cabinet. As a designer (homeglowdesign.com), I realized it could become a multi-functional room providing storage as well as a pantry and a hidden laundry. The washer and dryer were recessed into space under the stairs, freeing up the aisle. The walking space is 36″ to 40″.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
Kitchen cabinets set the tone for overall design of the room. As well as looking good, they need to be good. Their quality and condition will affect the resale value of the house. That’s why it’s important to maximize the value of your cabinet dollars. According to Consumer Reports, with cabinetry accounting for 40% of the room’s budget, it may be too easy to focus on the amount and not the value. The nomenclature by which cabinets are sold may seem similar but mean significantly different things.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Regina Cole |Abby Cote
“The trouble with this kitchen was that it didn’t go with the rest of the house,” says Suzie Van Cleave, an architect based in Milwaukee. “Because there really was no such thing as an ‘Arts & Crafts kitchen’.” Indeed, most period kitchens were small, segregated, utilitarian spaces without fancy woodwork or decorative finishes. A Mismatched KitchenThe house in greater Milwaukee, a brick and stucco bungalow with pronounced gables and deep eaves, was built in 1913.
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1 week ago | 
finehomebuilding.com | Abby Cote
This wasn’t our first restoration. Back in 1990, we restored a house built in 1854— and got the energy-efficiency bug. We became energy nuts. Twenty years later, we were contacted by the town’s Historic Preservation Commission, who asked if we’d like to see an abandoned 1830s Greek Revival farmhouse in jeopardy. A developer wanted to knock it down. The town (in Upstate New York) wouldn’t permit demolition because the house is listed in the Clifton Park Register of Historic Places.
